02-04-2005, 04:51 PM
TANKING AS A BEAR : SOME BASIC ADVICE
This guide is intended to give the druid player the basic tools needed to be an effective tank. I have found that even with no points at all in the feral tree it is possible to tank quite well in bear form, even in the higher level instances.
We're considering play in 5-player groups, where the druid is the only available tank. In order for this to work there must also be a healer and some damage dealers backing the tank up.
USING SPELLS TO GENERATE AGGRO
When you play as a tank your job is not to deal damage. You will of course deal some, but the tank's main job is to get and keep aggro from every mob in every encounter. The druid does not have quite the versatility of the warrior when it comes to managing aggro, but with a little ingenuity he can still be quite capable. We'll start by looking at spells which can be useful for generating aggro.
MOONFIRE: Moonfire is an instant which does some initial damage and then generates some DOT. The spell is only available in caster form, so you might wonder why it's on this list. I suggest that you start each encounter in caster form and use this spell to pull. It gives you a ranged way to pull and starts the process of getting the mob's aggro.
FAERIE FIRE: Another caster spell, this one lowers the mob's armor. Use this one directly after the Moonfire. If the pull is a bit tricky use this before the Moonfire; it generates less aggro and can often turn a 2 or 3-pull into a 1-pull.
REJUVENATION: This is a healing spell which heals over time. Cast this on yourself as soon as the mob is pulled. Again this will generate aggro and the healing will make you harder to damage at the beginning of the fight.
REGROWTH: Another healing spell, this one heals for a fixed amount and then has a heal over time component. Cast this along with the Rejuvenation, for even more aggro and a little less damage taken early in the fight.
After you've pulled as described above and buffed yourself, drop into bear form. Make sure that your party understands not to start unloading on the mob until you are in bear form and have a bit of rage generated. Once you are in bear form there is a small selection of spells available.
DEMORALIZING ROAR: This decreases attack power of the mobs,and again generates aggro. This also has a small area effect, and so should be the first thing you use in bear form, as it will help cement nearby mobs to you if more than one was pulled.
ENRAGE: This spell is an instant which generates rage and lowers your armor rating. I don't believe it generates aggro by itself, but if you find it's taking too long to get off the Demoralizing Roar, you should consider casting this as soon as you go into bear form.
GROWL: This spell's only purpose is to generate aggro. Use this just after the Demoralizing Roar, and toss one in every now and then during the fight to make sure you don't lose the mob's attention.
If you use the combination of spells outlined above on a single pull, and if the rest of the party holds off until you are in bear form, it will be almost impossible for anyone but a warrior to pull the mob back off of you.
On larger pulls, or if there are adds, the druid still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
SWIPE: This spell does some damage to 3 nearby enemies, and keeps you near the top of their hit list. If the pull is 2 or 3 you will want to use this directly after the Demoralizing Roar.
CHALLENGING ROAR: This spell forces all nearby enemies to attack you, but has a 10 minute cooldown. You want to save this one for when it's really needed. As an example consider the elemental patrols in Maraudon. If you use the steps outlined above to pull one of the larger elementals, you will generally find that the other large elemental (if there is one) will also latch onto you. But the smaller ones will often peel off and head for the casters. This is a good time to give chase and use Challenging Roar on the group of smaller elementals.
This leads to another basic of tanking: protect the other players at all costs. This means that if there is an add, or if you lost the aggro of one of the mobs you are tanking, then you need to drop what you're doing and pull that mob away from the rest of the party. There are exceptions here: if there is a mage or another druid in the party they might be able to handle the problem with Polymorph or Hibernate. A hunter can usually handle a single mob quite easily. But if the mob is on one of the casters and is not being otherwise handled it is your job to get it off. With practice you will get better at judging which is the best course in a given situation.
Here are some other spells worth mentioning:
BASH: This spell stuns the target briefly. This is handy in two common situations. If the healer is having trouble keeping up, and needs a few seconds to get a heal to you, use Bash to give that player a little breathing room. This is also sometimes useful if the mob is a caster, as you can often Bash them before they get off their spell.
MAUL: This spell adds extra damage to the bear's next attack, and is the mainstay of soloing as a bear. You want to use this only when the mob is firmly attached to you and you have nothing better to do with your rage. Keep in mind that any damage you do as a bear is incidental. Your job is keeping aggro.
MARK OF THE WILD: Every druid should have 5 points in Improved Mark of the Wild, and it should be cast on you and every party member at all times. This applies whether you are tanking or not.
THORNS: This buff returns a bit of damage to anything that hits you. The damage return is not great, but this is good for generating aggro against multiple mobs. You should keep this on you at all times.
Conclusion: Tanking as a druid is a lot of fun, and I have been fairly succesful at it. Often the hardest part of the job is convincing the rest of the party that you are able to do it! Keep in mind that as a tank you need to have a very good sense of what is going on with the fight. You need to have an awareness of where the other players are at all times, and keep track of what mobs are currently engaged. A good party will let you know when there are adds, but keeping an eye on the party health bars is a good way to know if something is going wrong behind you. Also keep in mind that the only stat you never need to worry about is your own health. It's the healer's job to focus on it, not yours. Dying now and again is part of the tanking job, but in a well played group you might be surprised how rarely that will happen.
-DarkCrown
This guide is intended to give the druid player the basic tools needed to be an effective tank. I have found that even with no points at all in the feral tree it is possible to tank quite well in bear form, even in the higher level instances.
We're considering play in 5-player groups, where the druid is the only available tank. In order for this to work there must also be a healer and some damage dealers backing the tank up.
USING SPELLS TO GENERATE AGGRO
When you play as a tank your job is not to deal damage. You will of course deal some, but the tank's main job is to get and keep aggro from every mob in every encounter. The druid does not have quite the versatility of the warrior when it comes to managing aggro, but with a little ingenuity he can still be quite capable. We'll start by looking at spells which can be useful for generating aggro.
MOONFIRE: Moonfire is an instant which does some initial damage and then generates some DOT. The spell is only available in caster form, so you might wonder why it's on this list. I suggest that you start each encounter in caster form and use this spell to pull. It gives you a ranged way to pull and starts the process of getting the mob's aggro.
FAERIE FIRE: Another caster spell, this one lowers the mob's armor. Use this one directly after the Moonfire. If the pull is a bit tricky use this before the Moonfire; it generates less aggro and can often turn a 2 or 3-pull into a 1-pull.
REJUVENATION: This is a healing spell which heals over time. Cast this on yourself as soon as the mob is pulled. Again this will generate aggro and the healing will make you harder to damage at the beginning of the fight.
REGROWTH: Another healing spell, this one heals for a fixed amount and then has a heal over time component. Cast this along with the Rejuvenation, for even more aggro and a little less damage taken early in the fight.
After you've pulled as described above and buffed yourself, drop into bear form. Make sure that your party understands not to start unloading on the mob until you are in bear form and have a bit of rage generated. Once you are in bear form there is a small selection of spells available.
DEMORALIZING ROAR: This decreases attack power of the mobs,and again generates aggro. This also has a small area effect, and so should be the first thing you use in bear form, as it will help cement nearby mobs to you if more than one was pulled.
ENRAGE: This spell is an instant which generates rage and lowers your armor rating. I don't believe it generates aggro by itself, but if you find it's taking too long to get off the Demoralizing Roar, you should consider casting this as soon as you go into bear form.
GROWL: This spell's only purpose is to generate aggro. Use this just after the Demoralizing Roar, and toss one in every now and then during the fight to make sure you don't lose the mob's attention.
If you use the combination of spells outlined above on a single pull, and if the rest of the party holds off until you are in bear form, it will be almost impossible for anyone but a warrior to pull the mob back off of you.
On larger pulls, or if there are adds, the druid still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
SWIPE: This spell does some damage to 3 nearby enemies, and keeps you near the top of their hit list. If the pull is 2 or 3 you will want to use this directly after the Demoralizing Roar.
CHALLENGING ROAR: This spell forces all nearby enemies to attack you, but has a 10 minute cooldown. You want to save this one for when it's really needed. As an example consider the elemental patrols in Maraudon. If you use the steps outlined above to pull one of the larger elementals, you will generally find that the other large elemental (if there is one) will also latch onto you. But the smaller ones will often peel off and head for the casters. This is a good time to give chase and use Challenging Roar on the group of smaller elementals.
This leads to another basic of tanking: protect the other players at all costs. This means that if there is an add, or if you lost the aggro of one of the mobs you are tanking, then you need to drop what you're doing and pull that mob away from the rest of the party. There are exceptions here: if there is a mage or another druid in the party they might be able to handle the problem with Polymorph or Hibernate. A hunter can usually handle a single mob quite easily. But if the mob is on one of the casters and is not being otherwise handled it is your job to get it off. With practice you will get better at judging which is the best course in a given situation.
Here are some other spells worth mentioning:
BASH: This spell stuns the target briefly. This is handy in two common situations. If the healer is having trouble keeping up, and needs a few seconds to get a heal to you, use Bash to give that player a little breathing room. This is also sometimes useful if the mob is a caster, as you can often Bash them before they get off their spell.
MAUL: This spell adds extra damage to the bear's next attack, and is the mainstay of soloing as a bear. You want to use this only when the mob is firmly attached to you and you have nothing better to do with your rage. Keep in mind that any damage you do as a bear is incidental. Your job is keeping aggro.
MARK OF THE WILD: Every druid should have 5 points in Improved Mark of the Wild, and it should be cast on you and every party member at all times. This applies whether you are tanking or not.
THORNS: This buff returns a bit of damage to anything that hits you. The damage return is not great, but this is good for generating aggro against multiple mobs. You should keep this on you at all times.
Conclusion: Tanking as a druid is a lot of fun, and I have been fairly succesful at it. Often the hardest part of the job is convincing the rest of the party that you are able to do it! Keep in mind that as a tank you need to have a very good sense of what is going on with the fight. You need to have an awareness of where the other players are at all times, and keep track of what mobs are currently engaged. A good party will let you know when there are adds, but keeping an eye on the party health bars is a good way to know if something is going wrong behind you. Also keep in mind that the only stat you never need to worry about is your own health. It's the healer's job to focus on it, not yours. Dying now and again is part of the tanking job, but in a well played group you might be surprised how rarely that will happen.
-DarkCrown